Life-boat



N. PETERS. PHoTwLnHoGRAPHEa. WASHINGTON. e C.

UNITE Afrrziv'lr GEORGE. LA. BAV, OF' JERSEY GI'IY, NEV .TIERS-EY.

LIFE-BOAT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WV. LA BAw, of Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented an Improved Life-Boat for the Purpose of Saving Life at Sea, the boat having many characteristics which make it diiferent from any heretofore invented.

The sides of the boat are constructed so that the top and bottom are the same, and which contain the air chambers.

The ribs are arranged in their proper places by means of pivots, to the ends of each rib, the pivots resting in the sides of the boat, and made to turn freely. The keel is secured to its proper place by means of the ribs passing directly through the keel and stand transversely and at right angles to the same. The pivots or arms of one of the ribs project through the sides of the boat far enou 'h to admit a lever to be attached to the end, or the purpose of turing the ribs to any desired position, and to form the boat to its proper shape.

The ribs are covered with an inside and outside lining, which is secured to the side of the boat; the material of which may be gutta percha, india rubber, leather, hemp, or any other material, and by this simple arrangement it can be made to retain its upright position when the boat is either side up-thus effectually preventing swamping; for the boat has a double buoyancy with air chambers, and will sustain nearly double the load of any other boat having the same capacity-being a more sure life boat than any heretofore known or used, for the preservation of human life, the loss of which is annually very great.

Such is the nature of my invention, and I do hereby declare, that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which- Figure 1, is a side view of the boat as it stands for use, showing the sides of the boat, lever, outside lining &c.-Fig. 2, is a longitudinal section through the boat, showing the relative positions of the ribs, pivots, keel, cutwaters, and linings, Fig. 3, top

ribs; E, keel; K, main rib; F, arm secured to main rib; J, pivots; II, cutwaters; O, inside lining; L L, inside-cutwat-ers; PP PP, air chambers, as shown in Fig. 4v; C, lever.

1- The boat may be used as follows: First, it matters not in what position the boat is launched, for the bottom and top of the sides of the boat is the same, as designated by letter A A in Fig. 4, and by the arrangement of the ribs D and K, all of which pass directly through the keel E, as shown in Fig. 3, the pivots on the ends of the ribs, designated by the letter J and F, all rest 'n the sides of the boat A A. By these means the ribs are kept in their proper places and made to turn freely.

The lever C is secured to the arm F, for the purpose of turning the ribs to any desired position, and to form the boat to its proper shape. The lever C or its equivalent may be substituted by any other form of lever, as the form is not material.

The covering for the boat, which is termed here the inside and outside lining, marked by the letters O and B, is secured to the side of the boat A A, as shown in Fig. 4, the material of which may be gutta percha, india rubber, leather, hemp, or any other material which is best adapted for the purposes set forth.

The cutwaters I I and L L is secured one end of each, by means of hinges to the ends of the boat, also through the linings B and O, as shown in Fig. 2 for the double purpose of forming the ends of the boat to a proper shape, and a guide for the ends of the keel E to slide upon, when the bottom of the boat is to be formed to its proper shape, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2.

The air chambers, represented by the letter P in Fig. 4;, Will give the boat a double rib K and keel E and outwaters' I L-the buoyancy, and Will sustain nearly double the Whole being constructed substantially as for load of any other boat having the same the purpose specified. capacity. GEORGE W. LA BAW. 5 What I claim as my invention in the said Witnesses:

life boat is CHAs. A. GEssINGToN,

The arrangement of ribs D with the main GEO. M. IRVING. 

